Jon Jones was left stunned by Alex Pereira’s viral first-round finish of Jamahal Hill.
Stepping into the spotlight at the promotion’s landmark UFC 300 card in Las Vegas, ‘Poatan’ put his light heavyweight title on the line for the first time against a former champion hellbent on reclaiming the crown he’d never lost. Jamahal Hill talked a big game going into their massive 205-pound headliner, but it took Pereira a little over three minutes to let his fists do all the talking for him.
Waving off referee Herb Dean seconds after absorbing a low blow, Pereira blasted Hill with a nasty left uppercut that instantly put ‘Sweet Dreams’ to sleep. Hill came to long enough to see a flurry of fists flying his way until Dean stepped in, bringing a stop to the bout in the opening round.
Reactions to the insane knockout flooded social media with some of MMA’s biggest stars joining in — including reigning undisputed UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who shared his two-work take on the epic finish.
“My goodness,” Jones wrote on X.
is Jon jones vs. Alex pereira possible?
Immediately following the contest, Alex Pereira called for a quick turnaround, requesting to challenge interim heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall at UFC 301 on May 4.
“I want to keep continuing to defend this belt,” Pereira said. “I talked a lot about fighting in Brazil if I won this fight. I won this fight. I’m not hurt. Nothing happened. I know there needs to be a lot of promotion behind a fight, but I want to have a fight at heavyweight.”
It’s unlikely that Pereira vs. Aspinall will happen — at least on such short notice — but if Pereira likes the idea of a move to heavyweight more than defending his 205-pound title against the next man in line, who are we to argue? Especially when the next man up for ‘Poatan’ is most likely Russian standout Magomed Ankalaev.
Who knows… If the UFC grants Pereria his wish, perhaps we could one day see ‘Poatan’ square off with Jon Jones, though that’s probably just wishful thinking.
